DODGE CARAVAN ENGINE PROBLEM

2000 Dodge Caravan • 109,000 miles

I recently started to notice that once my van is warmed up and I have been driving around for awhile, that it does this funny slight bucking type thing when I have to stop completely, and then start going again right around 5 mph until I get up to 35 mph or so, and then its fine. I dont have any problems with the transmission, and had it inspected in August of 2012 with no major issues. It only does it once its warmed up, not on a cold engine, it almost feels like its dragging something heavy and once I get going fast enough it catches up. My friend seems to think its a misfiring or bad spark plug, but I am curious what you think it might be, and if its dangerous to drive the van.

I have had 2 problems over the years that may come close to yours. Is the check engine light is on?

1. The torque converter lockup solenoid is defective causing it to remain stuck locked. When you stop
in this condition it would start bucking like a bronco and you then need to throw it into neutral to avoid stalling.
Cure: replace torque converter lockup solenoid

2. Transmission is stuck in high gear and did not automatically shift back down to 1st gear when you come to a stop. This would not buck like a bronco but takeoff will be very poor because the trans is stuck in high gear.
Try shifting into low and see if the problem is cleared. This was similar to yours also in that it took a while for it
to warm up enough to happen.
Cure: this was under warranty and they replaced the valve body.

No my check engine light is not on, nor has it ever come on while I am experiencing this problem. It only happens at speeds under 30 mph and is most noticeable when accelerating from a complete stop. It feels like I am dragging a large heavy object behind us and then once I get to 30 and above I dont seem to notice it. It is not bad, but am afraid it will get worse and need to know if its safe to drive. My old mechanic who moved to another state said to buy some fuel injection cleaner and dump it into my gas tank in case the fuel injectors are dirty. So I guess that is what I will try.